not make some concerted effort to carry out the following suggestions: first, that free vaccination of all children on entering school and every five years thereafter during the school age be required; second, that all colleges make vaccination a requirement for admission; third, that all county and state institutions demand vaccination upon the entrance of an inmate; fourth, that all employers of labor demand vaccination as a requisite to employment the same as other qualifications; fifth, that not only vaccination but revaccination be demanded in every walk in life, as it now is in military life. Until such a time as vaccination is as complete as recommended above, we shall continue to have smallpox. As soon as these recommendations are carried out as they should be by health districts - by appropriation if by no other methods smallpox will cease to exist, as it has ceased to be a menace in military circles. Funds are obtained in each health district by appropriation for the purpose of disinfection, and no one expects the individual to pay for the fumigation of his own house. As vaccination is more efficient than fumigation in preventing smallpox, why not make an appropriation sufficient to cover free vaccination for all? Had the advice of this Department relative to general vaccination been observed in Ohio during the past few months, the great expenditure shown by the tables could have been obviated. The recommendations show that free vaccination is an economy in preference to maintaining costly quarantine. E. J. S. A THING YOU CAN'T BUY "A pair of baby's eyes are priceless. No amount of money a court loss of an infant's eyes." can give will compensate for the This statement was made recently by a judge in a California court as he awarded $25,000 damages to the mother of a baby made sightless by the carelessness of an attendant at the child's birth. A baby's eyes are priceless-yet, it is estimated that 50,000 of the 300,000 blind dependents in the United States are blind on account of a preventable disease caused by a germ that gets into babies' eyes at birth. A school child's eyes are priceless yet the slow progress in school of many a boy or girl is due to poor eyesight which might easily be remedied by the use of proper glasses. A workman's eyes are priceless - yet there are nearly 200,000 accidents to eyes in industry in this country every year, and practically all of these could be prevented. Eyesight is a priceless possession - yet we neglect and even abuse our eyes, seemingly heedless of the fact that if mankind suddenly were to lose its eyesight, the race would die out. No one will doubt this statement who will review the ordinary acts of his daily life, and realize the indispensable part the eye plays in them all, from the most ordinary to the most important. R. H. Bishop, Jr., M. D., Commissioner of Health, Cleve land. Typhoid fever germs enter the body by only one route-through the mouth. What Counties Did in Baby-Saving in First Four Months of Year T HE accompanying table is published for the information of health officials and child welfare workers in the various counties of the state. It will enable any one to see how many infant deaths have occurred in his county during the first four months of the year and to estimate (though not with perfect accuracy) what has been accomplished toward reducing the county's baby death rate. The only basis for estimating "savings" in the state at present is comparison of this year's deaths with the deaths in an average period of the same length in 1916. For example, if you wish to see what has been accomplished in Ashland County in four months, act as follows: Total the monthly death figures for 1918, obtaining 13 as the number of deaths in the four months. The deaths in the average period of four months in 1916 were one-third of the 1916 year's total, or 14. The saving then is one. The quota of saving assigned to the county for the year 1918 is 12, or four for three months. Ashland, then, has at tained only one-fourth the assigned saving. For an accurate comparison, however, death totals by months for 1916 (or preferably 1917) must be used, instead of monthly averages. Averages are unsatisfactory because of the seasonal fluctuation in death totals. present no monthly figures, separated by age groups, are available for Ohio. The State Department of Health is endeavoring to have At such statistics compiled by the Bureau of Vital Statistics, and hopes to be able to base comparisons upon them later in the year. Statistics for the year 1917 will be available soon, it is promised. Monthly infant death totals will be compiled throughout 1918 and at the end of the year information as to the results of the baby-saving campaign up to that date can be published without delay. April, it will be remembered, was in reality the first month of Children's Year. Under the unsatisfactory system of comparison with 1916 averages, the state in that month saved twenty-one babies. It is estimated, however, that the actual reduction below the April, 1916, total was at least over 300; compilation of the 1916 monthly statistics is necessary before a more exact statement in this regard can be made. In comparing the April, 1918, figures with those for April, 1916, these three points will have to be remembered: First, the infant death total for April, 1916, was probably abnormally high as compared with the usual April total; second, a heavy saving should have been made in April so as to balance the large number of deaths which can be expected during the hot summer months; third, despite these considerations Ohio failed to meet its monthly quota of lives to be saved. Comparison of individual county totals for April with the 1916 average shows that thirty-six counties saved their quotas or over, and that thirty-two counties not only failed to save their quotas but actually lost more babies than in the average month of 1916. The other twenty counties saved some babies but not enough to meet their quotas. City statistics similar to those given for counties have been com piled but must be omitted from these columns because of lack of space. In the case of the larger cities, the city totals do not vary greatly from their respective county totals. Any one interested in the figures for a given city can obtain them upon request. DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE IN OHIO, BY COUNTIES, IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 1918, WITH 1916 TOTALS OF SUCH DEATHS AND BABY-SAVING QUOTAS FOR 1918 BASED ON THOSE TOTALS. DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE IN OHIO, ETC. County. Deaths, 1916. Quota to be Saved, 1918. Deaths. 1918. Concluded. Recently Adopted Regulations of the State Department of Health REGULATIONS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF THE DEAD RULE 1. A transit permit and transit label issued by the proper health authorities shall be required for each dead body transported by common carrier. The transit permit shall state the name, sex, color and age of the deceased, the cause and date of death, the initial and terminal points, the date and route of shipment, a statement as to the method of preparation of the body, the date of issuance, the signature of the undertaker, the signature and official title of the officer issuing the permit. The transit label shall state the place and date of death, the name of the deceased, the name of the escort or consignee, the initial and terminal points, the date of issuance, and the signature and official title of the officer issuing the permit and shall be attached to the outside case. RULE 2. The transportation of bodies dead of smallpox, plague, Asiatic cholera, typhus fever, diphtheria (membranous croup, diphtheritic sore throat), scarlet fever (scarlet rash, scarlatina), shall be permitted only under the following conditions: The body shall be thoroughly embalmed with an approved disinfectant fluid by an embalmer licensed in the State of Ohio, all orifices shall be closed with absorbent cotton, the body shall be washed with the disinfectant fluid, enveloped in a sheet saturated with the same, and placed at once in the coffin or casket which shall be immediately closed, and the coffin or casket, or the outside case containing the same shall be metal or metal lined, and hermetically and permanently sealed. This regulation, as amended, shall take effect and be in force on and after March 1, 1918. RULE 3. The transportation of bodies dead of any diseases other than those mentioned in Rule 2, shall be permitted under the following conditions: (A) When the destination can be reached within twenty-four hours after death the body, if embalmed by an embalmer licensed in the State of Ohio, shall be placed in a casket or coffin, and encased in an outside case of substantial construction. If not embalmed, the body shall be placed in a casket or coffin which shall be encased in a strong outer box made of good sound lumber not less than seven-eighths of an inch thick, all joints must be tongued and grooved, top and bottom, put on with cleats or cross pieces, all put securely together, and be tightly closed with white lead, asphalt varnish or paraffin paint, and a rubber gasket placed on the upper edge between the lid and box. (B) When the destination cannot be reached within twenty-four hours after death, the body shall be thoroughly embalmed and the coffin or casket placed in an outside case of substantial construction. This regulation, as amended, shall take effect and be in force on and after March 1, 1918. RULE 4. No disinterred body dead from any disease or cause shall be transported by common carrier unless approved by the health authorities having jurisdiction at the place of disinterment, and transit permit and transit label shall be required as provided in Rule 1. The disinterment and transportation of bodies dead of diseases mentioned in Rule 2 shall not be allowed except by special permission of the health authorities at both places of disinterment and the point of destination. All disinterred remains shall be enclosed in metal or metal-lined boxes and hermetically sealed, providing that bodies in a receiving vault when prepared by licensed embalmer shall not be regarded as disinterred bodies until after the expiration of thirty days. |